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MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades. edit] Unplugged The term Unplugged has become a term used to describe music usually heard on amplified instruments such as electric guitar and synthesizer that is rendered instead on instruments that are not electronically amplified, for example acoustic guitar or traditional piano, although a microphone is still used. The word became incorporated into the title of a popular MTV series that began in the 1989/1990 US TV season, MTV Unplugged, on which musicians performed acoustic or "unplugged" versions of their familiar electric repertoire. Many of these performances were subsequently released as albums, often featuring the title Unplugged. edit] Inspiration for MTV Unplugged The underlying concept behind the Unplugged series has been attributed to the popularity among musicians of a variety of informal musical performances on stage, film, television and record in earlier decades. The casual "in-the-round" sequence in Elvis Presley's 1968 Comeback Special, and the Beatles informal studio jams documented in the 1970 film Let It Be were both precursors of the "Unplugged" concept, though they were neither conceived nor promoted as such at the time they occurred. The direct inspiration for the series came in the decade immediately preceding the creation of the MTV program. The catalyst was a series of highly-publicized "unplugged" performances that occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first of these was the June 1979 appearances by Pete Townshend at The Secret Policeman's Ball, a series of benefit shows in London for human rights organization Amnesty International at which the usually electric guitar-wielding Townshend was persuaded by benefit producer Martin Lewis to perform his hits "Pinball Wizard" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" on acoustic guitar. The performances were widely seen and heard on the 1980 live album and the UK-only movie of the benefit and inspired other rock performers to emulate Townshend. Two years later in September 1981 Lewis produced a sequel benefit show The Secret Policeman's Other Ball that featured similar performances by other rock performers including Sting, Phil Collins and Bob Geldof. The 1982 live album of these performances and the US version of The Secret Policeman's Other Ball movie (which incorporated a "flashback" of Townshend's 1979 performances) both became very successful and were widely seen and heard in the USA. The phenomenon of rock stars re-creating their hits in an acoustic manner was thus well established by the early 1980s though the word "unplugged" had not yet been applied to the concept. In addition, the late 1980s saw a renewed interest in folk and acoustic music in general (accompanied by a wave of nostalgia for the music of the 1960s, which also had a significant folk/acoustic movement). Many new acts established during the period had a strong folk/acoustic influence, e.g. The Indigo Girls, R.E.M., Sinéad O'Connor, Suzanne Vega, Lyle Lovett, Michael Penn, Enya, and Bruce Hornsby and the Range. At the same time, many established folk and folk-influenced artists of the 60s and 70s experienced renewed success — some reaching the greatest commercial success of their careers — such as Paul Simon, The Grateful Dead, Jethro Tull, Bonnie Raitt, Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler, Yes, and Bob Dylan. The first rock artist to perform in an "unplugged" mode on MTV was Jethro Tull, who, on November 17, 1987 as an acoustic trio (Ian Anderson, Dave Pegg, and Doane Perry), performed a portion of "Serenade to a Cuckoo" and "Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of the New Day)". XTC performed acoustically in May 1989, and Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora performed "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Wanted Dead or Alive" during the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards. The concept of an MTV show titled Unplugged drawing on this phenomenon has been attributed to producers Robert Small and Jim Burns together with songwriter Jules Shear, who hosted the first 13 episodes.1 After the first 13 episodes, the role of host was eliminated. The show was produced by Viacom and RSE Inc2 and was most frequently directed by Milton Lage and Beth McCarthy. edit] Memorable moments on MTV Unplugged edit] 1989-1992 *The series first aired November 26, 19893, featuring Squeeze, Syd Straw and Elliot Easton. The first 13 episodes were hosted by American singer-songwriter Jules Shear. *Paul McCartney's 1991 appearance was later released on the successful Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) album. Show producer Alex Coletti went on to say that had McCartney not released it, the concept would have never gained the cult status that it went on to enjoy. *On April 10, 1991, Unplugged aired its first ever acoustic rap show. The special kicked off with individual performances by LL Cool J along with MC Lyte (Cappucino), De La Soul (Ring Ring Ring), and A Tribe Called Quest ("Can I Kick It?") and a five piece back-up band, Pop's Cool Love. The highlight of the show was LL Cool J's energetic renditions of "Jingling Baby" and "Mama Said Knock You Out". *In 1992, Mariah Carey performed a cover version of The Jackson 5's hit "I'll Be There" along with backup singer Trey Lorenz. That live version was released as a single and went to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. *In 1992, Eric Clapton recorded an Unplugged performance at Bray Studios in London. He rearranged many of his famous songs for the acoustic context, and the resulting Unplugged album went on to become the bestselling Unplugged album in the U.S., with sales of 10 million. Clapton earned six Grammy Awards for the album, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Rock Male Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. *While MTV has filmed over 100 Unplugged performances, fewer than 30 of them have been released as albums. Pearl Jam's March 1992 set wasn't released until 2009 as a DVD for their reissue of their debut album, Ten.4 edit] 1993-1994 *On January 9, 1993, Swedish duo Roxette became the first non-English speaking artists to perform at MTV Unplugged. They recorded the show at Stockholm Circus. During the show they covered songs from other artists such as Aretha Franklin, Neil Young and The Byrds. *On November 17, 1993, British rock group Duran Duran filmed their acoustic performance after a brief hiatus from their world tour due to lead singer Simon Le Bon's vocal straining after 11 months on the road. Viewers witnessed a strong musical performance by the band of many classic hits as well as "Serious", a single released from Duran Duran's Liberty album from 1990, played in peak form. Duran Duran's MTV Unplugged remains a memorable performance not only for the band's return to the charts, but also as Le Bon's return to the stage. *Nirvana's performance on Unplugged was one of the last televised performances by Kurt Cobain, recorded about five months before his death. Nirvana's set list consisted of some of their lesser known originals, and covers of songs by the Meat Puppets, Lead Belly, David Bowie and The Vaselines. The only real "hit" played during this performance was "Come as You Are," although they did play "All Apologies". This contrasts with other Unplugged performances, where artists largely perform their hit singles and other original material. Nirvana's performance was released on CD a year later as MTV Unplugged in New York, with a DVD release in 2007. *Bruce Springsteen's 1993 performance included a twist in where most of his set was performed with amplified instruments. The show was released later on album and video as In Concert/MTV Plugged. *10,000 Maniacs performed their last televised concert with vocalist Natalie Merchant in 1993. The performance was released on CD. Their cover of the Patti Smith/Bruce Springsteen song "Because the Night" was released as a single. David Byrne was a guest vocalist. *Bob Dylan recorded an Unplugged concert in 1994 over two nights that was combined into one show. *On September 29, 1994, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs performed the first Latin/Spanish show at MTV Miami studios. The playlist included covers of The Clash's "The Guns of Brixton" and reggae artist Keith & Tex's "Stop That Train". edit] 1995-1999 EnlargeThe MTV Unplugged 2.0 logo used for the show's return in the 2000s.*On August 9, 1995, Kiss performed on an episode that would lead to the reunion of the original members. (See Kiss Unplugged). Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons contacted former members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley and invited them to participate in the show. Fan reaction was so positive that the following year the original Kiss lineup officially reunited, together for the first time since 1979. *On February 14, 1995, Hole performed on Unplugged with memorable performances of "Miss World," and "Doll Parts," and covers of the Nirvana songs "You Know You're Right" (as "You've Got No Right") and "Old Age", and also the Duran Duran song "Hungry Like the Wolf." *On April 10, 1996, Alice in Chains would give their first performance in three years and one of their last concerts as a group for 9 years. During the show, lead singer Layne Staley looked visibly weak, but was able to deliver a strong performance. This Unplugged session is also considered to be one of the most memorable Unplugged sessions. *Oasis were due to tape the show at the Royal Festival Hall on August 23, 1996, when lead singer Liam Gallagher pulled out at the last minute, citing a sore throat. The band performed despite this, with songwriter and guitarist Noel Gallagher handling the vocals. Liam watched the performance and heckled the group from a balcony. *In 1997, neo-soul singer Maxwell performed a cover of the Kate Bush hit "This Woman's Work" to high acclaim. *In 1999, Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira's concert became the first episode of the program to be broadcast entirely in another language - her native Spanish. Her MTV Unplugged release was particularly successful in introducing Shakira into the English speaking world. As well as charting at number one in the Billboard Latin Charts, it is also currently the only Latin Unplugged album to win a Grammy Award. edit] 2000-present Since 2000, the Unplugged format has been revived on a number of occasions for specials. *In 2001, Japanese Pop Singer Hikaru Utada became the youngest singer and the third Japanese Pop Singer, the first and second being Chage and Aska, to be featured on MTV Unplugged. *Lauryn Hill unveiled her much-anticipated new material on a 2002 MTV Unplugged special, and later released it on the album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. It had been three years since the release of Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Hill appeared with her hair cut off and performed in a stripped-down, minimalist style. Her set included her playing an acoustic guitar, spoken word segments, and occasionally breaking down in tears. *Dashboard Confessional recorded an Unplugged show in New York in 2002, and became the first band without a platinum record to do so. *Alicia Keys' Unplugged special aired on MTV on September 23, 2005. It was the first Unplugged for MTV in nearly three years, and special guests for Keys' performance included Mos Def, Common, Damian Marley and Maroon 5's Adam Levine. The show was released on CD and DVD in October 2005 (see ''Unplugged'' (Alicia Keys album)). *During the summer of 2009, MTV.com officially revived the Unplugged franchise with a 6-episode season produced and directed by Matthew Mills of Space Station Media. Artists in this latest incarnation were Adele, Silversun Pickups, All Time Low, Paramore, Vampire Weekend and Katy Perry. The shows debuted on unplugged.mtv.com while single song excerpts appear on MTV and Palladia in video rotation. Palladia is also premiering some of the full shows, air dates TBD. Adele Unplugged premiered on Palladia June 26 and Silversun Pickups August 1.5 *MTV revived the show on March 10, 2010 with Adam Lambert. edit] Performances inspired by the "Unplugged" format The success and popularity of the series has inspired artists to emulate the format in other venues, as well as many artists releasing their songs in acoustic format. Tesla released one of the first unplugged albums in 1990, Five Man Acoustical Jam. Jethro Tull had a semi-unplugged European tour in 1992; the tour and subsequent album were both titled A Little Light Music. MTV's sister channel, VH1, made the format even more intimate by interspersing semi-acoustic performances with the artists discussing the history and memories of the songs, in VH1 Storytellers. Bon Jovi performed unplugged in 2007 on CMT. The Police, Mary J. Blige, Kenny Chesney and John Mayer were scheduled to perform, but it appears these were scrapped.6 The fourth season of Canadian Idol featured an Unplugged night which was held at Toronto's Masonic Temple. This episode of Canadian Idol was a tribute to MTV in two ways: a direct tribute to the Unplugged Format, and to celebrate the recent licensing of the new MTV Canada which is, to this day, still located in the Masonic Hall. The highlight of the night was Eva Avila who wowed the judges, the nation and even the back-up singers. She would continue to build on this standout performance and claim victory of Canadian Idol's fourth season. Rock band Seether recorded a live & acoustic album at a show in Philadelphia called One Cold Night in 2006. Godsmack performed an all acoustic show, and released it on DVD with their Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack CD The Foo Fighters did an all acoustic American tour in 2007, with shows that resembled the Unplugged format.[citation needed] On the Hope for Haiti Now album, all featured artists performed unplugged during three studio concerts organized by MTV and George Clooney on 22 January 2010. Axl Rose & Guns N' Roses played two surprise unplugged shows in New York in February 2010. French director Benjamin Lemaire records since 2008 unplugged sessions like the ones organized by MTV for many websites including Deezer. edit] Interesting facts In 2009, a video game was released on PlayStation Portable titled Rock Band Unplugged under the MTV brand. It includes the hits of the different groups involved in the show.